[BUG] Remote Web session cannot be created using CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

When using CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN and claude --remote "test prompt" the user receives:
Error: Unable to create remote session

What Should Happen?

It should be possible to trigger a Claude Code Remote Web session using an instance of the CLI (typically in CI/CD) using a CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN. This allows the session context to be persisted and then pulled down to continue working manually as part of a developer workflow.

Alternatively a way for CI/CD to sync sessions could be a viable solution. Context makes it easier to progress and wastes less tokens working out what's changed.

Error Messages/Logs

2026-02-23T08:47:18.773Z [ERROR] AxiosError: AxiosError: Request failed with status code 401

Looking at the requests claude makes:

• /api/oauth/profile 403 with a claim error (expected I think since recent changes)
• /api/claude_code_penguin_mode 403
• /api/oauth/claude_cli/client_data 403
• /v1/messages?beta=true 200
• /v1/messages?beta=true 200
• /v1/environment_providers 200
• /v1/sessions 401

What stood out was the 401 vs a 403. The same Authorization token (the value of CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN is being used for each request).

The response from /v1/sessions is:

{
    "error": {
        "message": "Authentication failed",
        "type": "authentication_error"
    },
    "request_id": "req_011CYQi8ypDzhs7Z2sZ9ijks",
    "type": "error"
}

Steps to Reproduce

1. Generate a token claude setup-token
2. Set it in a new environment export CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN=
3. Copy ~/.claude.json (specifically oauthAccount.organizationUuid is needed)
4. claude --remote "test prompt"

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.50 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Ubuntu/Debian Linux

Terminal/Shell

Non-interactive/CI environment

Additional Information

_No response_